


Mass Effect Drabble(s)

by nursemchurt



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, fanfiction is for rewriting parts we didn't like ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-28 23:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15717078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nursemchurt/pseuds/nursemchurt
Summary: Just like the title says.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Found some notebooks where I've been writing Mass Effect stories.
> 
> Taking the time to attempt to decipher (my handwriting is atrocious) and clean them up to share.
> 
> See? I can write things besides J-Rock fanfics ;)

"Shepard! Lower your weapon, please!"

Kaidan had both hands on his pistol, aiming directly at Shepard's heart as he tried to stop her from going after Councilor Udina and most likely killing him, but she refused to move.

 

"Kaidan. Why won't you trust me? We need to stop Udina before he lets Cerberus in to kill us all!"

 

Staring down the barrel of his gun, Kaidan felt time slow as he looked at the woman aiming at him with intent to kill if necessary and it suddenly hit him. He was on the receiving end of the very same situations he had been beside Shepard with three years ago. This was Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy, the first human Spectre, and war hero who was willing to take whatever means necessary in order to do what she felt was right. Despite all his doubts since she came back from the dead, this truly was the woman he fell in love with three years ago. Sadly, his epiphany came too late.

 

"I'm sorry," Shepard said, quickly glancing over to lock eyes with Garrus who had been on her left the entire time with his rifle aimed at Kaidan as well.

Before he could even react, Kaidan heard Garrus' rifle fire and felt the bullet pierce through his armor and into his chest, the impact knocking him against the railing behind him.

 

Shepard had already run off to stop Udina soon after Garrus had taken his shot. That they had pulled this off with no planning ahead and only a quick exchange of glances didn't surprise Kaidan at all. As he slumped down to the floor with Garrus stepping forward, rifle still readied, he recounted the number of times he'd seen the two work together like this. From the final battle with Saren on the Citadel, all the way back to the first time they had met the Turian detective in the middle of a hostage situation in a clinic back in what felt like decades ago to Kaidan right now.

Realizing his gun was no longer in his hands, he looked down and saw the blood weeping out the tear in the chest of his armor and snapped back into reality. He felt a sharp pain inside his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

 

"I've gone ahead and called for hospital transport for the Major here," Garrus said, turning to face Shepard as she walked back towards them. "I did my best to not hit anything vital. Hopefully, they can patch him up.

 

"Good. Thanks." She turned to look at Kaidan, her a mix of pity and frustration. Kneeling down in front of him, she let out a heavy sigh. "Why couldn't you have just lowered your gun?"

 

Trying to focus his eyes his eyes on the Commander, Kaidan could only reply, "Man couldn't defend himself," before the pain and blood loss finally got the best of him and he slipped down into dark unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A scene where my Commander Shepard examines the handiwork of Project Lazarus.
> 
> CW: Mild reference of former childhood abuse.

The first thing she noticed looking at her reflection was that he freckles were all gone. Sliding long, pale fingers that she noticed were different as well -- smooth now when they used to be rough and calloused, except for that one smooth spot on the fleshy bit under her left thumb, an old cigar burn -- down her arms, Shepard touched over where the sun-given spots on her shoulders used to be before moving on to inspect her face.

 

_ Her face. _

 

Shepard leaned against the sink more, trying to get a closer look at the stranger in her reflection. Not only were her freckles gone, but so were the decades of familiar battle wounds -- some from her time in the military, most from before her 14th birthday -- replaced with a web of cracks across the right side of her face and over the back of her hands. From within the cracks, a red light pulsed, matching the light coming from the pupils of her -- thankfully, she thought --  still emerald eyes.

 

Cybernetics. Miranda and the Illusive Man weren’t joking, they really did rebuild me, she thought. Taking a step back from the sink, Shepard continued taking appraisal of her new skin, trying to recall the maps of her life it once told. For the most part, she was glad of it. The biggest and most visible had been constant reminders of her life before the Alliance.

 

Yes, she decided to make the most of the situation, and accept her new skin, unbroken and unblemished except for the signs of cybernetics that had put her back together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I never liked how the third game treated you for moving on past Kaidan in ME2.

Shepard let out a heavy sigh as the elevator doors opened to Huerta Memorial. She had been in earlier, back when Kaidan was still under sedation and unconscious.

That time, it was easy, which made the pit of her stomach turn in guilt that she was quick to handwave away. Since she had died and come back, Kaidan had continually made her feel as if she was lying to him, that she had turned against him.

 

Few things stung Shepard the way someone’s loss of trust in her did. She always understood Kaiden’s initial suspicions after her revival by Cerberus, but by destroying them from within along with the Collector’s Base, she had hoped his fears would be eased and she would be able to regain some trust back.

She wasn’t naive enough to believe that everything would have immediately gone back to how it had been before she died but unfortunately the situation seemed even more fragile than that.

Shepard pressed the keypad to open the sliding door into Kaidan’s room and stepped inside. Kaidan was sitting up in his hospital bed speaking with Councilor Udina standing over him. He was still bruised and battered, but being awake seemed to bring back some of his usual coloring to his face. Seeing Shepard, Udina quickly wrapped up his talk with Kaidan and left to give them space alone. After what felt like an eternity between them, Kaidan was the first to break the silence.

 

“Is it true? You and… Garrus?” Kaidan looked at Shepard with eyes so sad yet so accusatory that she felt what was left of the flutter of guilt she had turn into a smouldering fire deep within her gut.

 

“Are you serious? Is that what your cold shoulder has been about? You think next time you can lead straight away with the jealous act and not treat me like a goddamned terrorist?”

 

“I’m sorry Shepard. I know I shouldn’t have expected you to pine around after how we left things on Horizon but…” He trailed off as Shepard’s eyes on him narrowed and her knuckles turned white as she balled up her hands into fists at her sides.

 

“...But you thought sending me a letter about how you’d been trying to move on before I was forced back into the picture would be enough? That was honestly the last I heard from you until the reapers hit us on Earth! Christ Kaidan, I’m sure Anderson kept you in the loop about things, but you still left it at that for a whole fucking year!”

Kaidan struggled to find his words, but all he could do was look at Shepard and her fury, mouth slightly opened in a look of complete surprise. This was not at all how he expected this meeting to go.

 

“I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you that Cerberus was rebuilding me out of a pile of charred remains, but I was busy being dead for two years!” With that, Shepard spun around on one heel and started towards the doorway. Her hand hovered over the keypad as she turned to face Kaidan one last time, eyes glinting with tears about to spill over, “ This war we’re fighting, it still needs you, but don’t think for a second that I do, Major Alenko.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night before the Omega 4 Relay.

Feeling the warmth radiating from where Garrus’ forehead met hers, coupled with the gentle embrace of his arms and the feel of what passed for thumbs on his hands rubbing soft circles into her arms, Shepard felt the wall she worked so hard to build crack and crumble as she tried to stifle the sob trying to escape herself.

Surprised by Shepard’s body beginning to tremble against his, Garrus pulled back in order to get a better read on her. Human body language and expressions were easy enough for Garrus to understand by now, but it was the why behind them that was currently confounding him.

Her face, eyes squeezed tight and mouth pulled into a grimace of pain, while her fists were tightly balled, gripping into his tunic. This was anger, grief, and sadness all at once, but why now?  
Considering the moment, Garrus could only imagine that Shepard was having second thoughts about their planned night together and maybe felt obligated to follow through, even though he had given her several opportunities to call it off that she’d refused.  
Releasing Shepard from his arms and clothing, he started to back away to the cabin door.

“Shepard. I didn’t mean to pressure you. Spirits, I would never…” He trailed off, mandibles twitching with anxiety as Shepard let out a loud strangled cry and turned to the aquarium on the wall beside her.

Taking purchase of the large fish tank with one hand, she leaned her head against it, hot tears spilling over as she looked in, gaze far beyond the bright aquatic creatures swimming around oblivious.

“I can’t do this,” She said, and Garrus’ heart sank.

“You, Joker, and Chakwas were the only ones to trust me right away. Trust that I was me.” She turned to lean her back on the glass while she folded her arms into herself and stared off at the ceiling, “Now, Chakwas and half the crew are gone and probably dead by now. I can't do this. Garrus, I can’t ask you to come and die with me.”  
She raised up a hand to bury her face into as she slid down to the floor.

“Shepard, even if you don’t ask me to, I’ll always follow you through hell and back,” He replied, moving to close the distance between them as he went to sit down beside her.  
“Besides. We both know if you hadn’t shown up on Omega when you did that I’d definitely already be dead.”

At that, Shepard turned her head, one eye peeking out from between her fingers, to look at Garrus, his mandibles flaring out in mimicry of a grin as her eye met his.

“There’s only so many rockets a Turian can take to the face and survive, you know. I’ve already lived through one more than we should, so I’m feeling pretty lucky.”

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Shepard snorted in laughter, “Shit Vakarian, maybe you should try to catch about nine more then. You might come out of it finally looking cute.”

Laughing together for a bit, the sat side by side peacefully in silence for long after.


End file.
